Demons girls swept on road

By Aaron Viner | Jul 01, 2014

Photo by: Aaron VinerWashington’s Kayla Andrew went 1-for-3 in the first game against Keokuk on Monday night.

It seemed like a bad case of déjà vu for Washington softball on Monday night. In the first game of a conference doubleheader at Keokuk, the Demons trailed by one heading in to the top of the seventh, and managed to load the bases with two outs. They had been in a similar position against Fairfield one week ago, down two with the bases loaded. Unfortunately, what happened next was the same in both games. A grounder was slapped to the shortstop, and as she prepared to throw the ball over to first to make the final out, was run into by a Demon, ending the game 3-2. “It was all about defense and base running in the first game,” Washington head coach Angie Shrader said. “We had too many defensive errors (four) on the night, and only one of their three runs were earned. We just didn’t get it done out in the field. “Ashley threw a good game in the first game. It was frustrating to end the game 3-2, when we had a base-running mistake early in the game that we didn’t score on. We had fielding errors, and another base-running error to end the game.” Keokuk also took a rain-shortened second game 2-1 in five innings to finish the sweep over Washington on Monday. “We got through five innings and the storms came a second time, and the game was called,” Shrader said. “We technically didn’t finish the game, but since we had completed five, they called it a complete game. We had just scored a run in the fifth inning, then had a lightning delay. We chose to wait, because we didn’t want to just give up, but then they called it because the radar was showing purple and they wanted to get out of there.” In the first game, Washington started off with a run in the top of the first inning, but Keokuk answered with a run in each of the first, second and third innings to take a 3-1 lead. Washington plated a run in the top of the seventh, but the base running mistake led to the loss 3-2. Emma Wood had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 in the game while the Demons had 10 hits in the game. Ashley Rausch took the loss in the first game, despite only allowing one earned run. She struck out seven over six innings for the Demons. In game two, Keokuk struck first with a run in the first inning, then added another in the fourth, to take a 2-0 lead. Wood brought Mackenzie Knutson home in the top of the fifth, closing the gap to one, but the storms rolled in and wouldn’t allow the teams to finish the game. Amber Linnenkamp was pitching for the Demons in the second game, and gave up six hits and no walks, while striking out two batters. With one week left in the regular season, Shrader said the team has to put everything together and gain confidence. “We just need to put a complete game together,” Shrader said. “We’ve been so sporadic of playing well defensively a few games, then we’ll hit the ball well a few games. Our pitchers have done a nice job the whole year, which has been a good constant. “We need to get the win and put a good game together. Sometimes it’s frustrating when you have a good game and miss out on the win, or you don’t play well and still win. We are playing better softball right now; we just have to cut down on the mental mistakes.” In districts, the Demons will face Fort Madison on July 10, but just two days before that, due to a postponed game earlier in the season, will wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader against the same Bloodhounds. “We have to remember that win or lose, playing someone for a fifth time is tough,” Shrader said. “We split with them at home, and whatever happens next Tuesday is not a deciding factor for what will happen that Thursday. It’s tough to beat someone five times and to lose to someone five times, so no matter what happens on Tuesday, we have to come focused and ready to play on Thursday.” The Demons host a doubleheader against Lone Tree on Wednesday night starting at 5:30.